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This Password Authentication Backdoor Won a DEFCON 23 Contest. Can You Figure it Out?

The challenge:

Spoiler (Click to View)




The full write-up is available online. Don't feel bad if you can't figure it out at first glance.

Spoiler: On The Design and Implementation of a Stealth Backdoor for Web Applications
the backdoor involves the str_shuffle() function, it can easily be guessed since the entropy is not that secure and did you get this from the reddit article on r/netsec/? they explain in detail how it works.
(Jan 8, 2016 06:45 PM)๖ۣۜCriminal Wrote:  the backdoor involves the str_shuffle() function, it can easily be guessed since the entropy is not that secure and did you get this from the reddit article on r/netsec/? they explain in detail how it works.

Nope. I didn't get it from there.

I'm the author of both the UnderCrypto submission as well as the write-up on Paragon Initiative Enterprises' blog. (I also submitted it to /r/netsec.)

I'm Scott, nice to meet you. :)
(Jan 8, 2016 06:46 PM)sarciszewski Wrote:  Nope. I didn't get it from there.

I'm the author of both the UnderCrypto submission as well as the write-up on Paragon Initiative Enterprises' blog. (I also submitted it to /r/netsec.)

I'm Scott, nice to meet you. :)

Nice to meet you as well and im subscribed to the latest feeds I remember when webrtc first came out on there and 2-3 weeks later everyone was making their own variations of it in IP loggers although im sure people were aware of the flaw way before it was publicized.But on topic yeah its a pretty interesting backdoor I think from an attackers perspective the idea of intentional honeypotting stuff is a smart idea especially if its a big web app alot of people use.
(Jan 8, 2016 06:50 PM)๖ۣۜCriminal Wrote:  Nice to meet you as well and im subscribed to the latest feeds I remember when webrtc first came out on there and 2-3 weeks later everyone was making their own variations of it in IP loggers although im sure people were aware of the flaw way before it was publicized.But on topic yeah its a pretty interesting backdoor I think from an attackers perspective the idea of intentional honeypotting stuff is a smart idea especially if its a big web app alot of people use.
Thanks :)

The Underhanded Crypto Contest is pretty neat. I highly encourage everyone to look into entering the one at DEFCON 24 if they're going. (Even if you're not, the organizers might open it up to the Internet again.)
I don't know anything about this topic but I find it highly interesting
(Jan 8, 2016 06:46 PM)sarciszewski Wrote:  Nope. I didn't get it from there.

I'm the author of both the UnderCrypto submission as well as the write-up on Paragon Initiative Enterprises' blog. (I also submitted it to /r/netsec.)

I'm Scott, nice to meet you. :)

what happened to the awesome group you were gonna start on voodooKobra man ??
(Jan 8, 2016 07:04 PM)sinmar Wrote:  what happened to the awesome group you were gonna start on voodooKobra man ??

I vaguely recall expressing interest in starting a group years ago, but there was no real interest in it from the rest of the community-- probably because I don't regularly engage in attention-seeking behavior and most people have me beat in experience there.

(Jan 8, 2016 07:01 PM)Fleckens Wrote:  I don't know anything about this topic but I find it highly interesting

It's a fun topic. Cryptography is fascinating as hell. (Don't let the depressing droll of the "crack this hash plz?" of the crypto forum here discourage you!)
(Jan 8, 2016 07:06 PM)sarciszewski Wrote:  I vaguely recall expressing interest in starting a group years ago, but there was no real interest in it from the rest of the community-- probably because I don't regularly engage in attention-seeking behavior and most people have me beat in experience there.

idk i spoke w/ our man J.C. of ic.fbi.gov recently and had some good laughs
(Jan 8, 2016 07:12 PM)sinmar Wrote:  idk i spoke w/ our man J.C. of ic.fbi.gov recently and had some good laughs

Huh. Those initials don't ring a bell.

Anyway, I'm an appsec/crypto consultant these days. Occasionally some troll tries to incite me to commit a high crime and I just shake my head and ignore them.
Nope, can't tend to figure it out.
what are all those letters and why are they together
PM to verify any trade deals
(Jan 8, 2016 07:15 PM)Spooky White Wrote:  Nope, can't tend to figure it out.

Peep the write-up (contains spoilers) then. :)

(Jan 8, 2016 07:17 PM)hugsyou Wrote:  what are all those letters and why are they together

You mean this?

PHP Code

<?php 
/**
 * Generate a random string with our specific charset, which conforms to the
 * RFC 4648 standard for BASE32 encoding.
 *
 * @return string
 */
function noise()
{
    return 
substr(
        
str_shuffle(str_repeat('abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz234567', 16)),
        
0,
        
32
    
);
} 

The string (which is 32 characters long) is repeated 16 times, then shuffled, and the first 32 characters of the shuffled output are returned.

Any arbitrary string would work here, I just chose base32 because it's the easiest to read at a glance.


(Jan 8, 2016 07:34 PM)Dеath Wrote:  

(Jan 8, 2016 07:17 PM)hugsyou Wrote:  what are all those letters and why are they together

LOL exactly what I was thinking
PM to verify any trade deals


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